


wonder

by silvermalec



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: AU Malec, Alec Lightwood-centric, Alec/Underhill besties!, Angst, Athenian!Magnus, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Meetings, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slow Burn, Spartan!Alec, sad :(, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-05-09 01:57:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14706932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silvermalec/pseuds/silvermalec
Summary: ‘Alec realised why someone would say that this man was eccentric, but he had genuinely never seen someone sobeautiful.’-An Ancient Greece slow burn AU with Athenian!Magnus and Spartan!Alec during the Peloponnesian War :)





	1. one.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello! 
> 
> This is a new fic that I just started and I'm very very excited to write it, so I hope some of you will be excited to read it as well! One thing is that I will be using some terms that maybe not everyone knows, so I'll just write everything that you have to know in the notes before every chapter :) And obviously I'm not an expert on this topic, but if you want to know anything, don't hesitate to ask me!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Terms for this chapter:  
> \- Polis - polis is basically just the word for 'city', so Athens, Sparta, Corinth etc. are polis.  
> \- Gerousia - the gerousia was the collective name for Sparta's councilmembers. Sparta was ruled by two kings, but  
> they only made military based decisions, while the gerousia pretty much decided on everything else.  
> \- Spartiate - Spartiates were 'the' Spartan citizens. Sparta had many different sorts of citizens, but Spartiates were  
> the ones that enjoyed full rights and were usually the only citizens to actually go to war with other polis' or  
> countries.

 

'Once again, watch your feet, okay?' Alec spoke up, holding his arms out in front of him to get ready for the next blow, 'Make sure you're not too dependent on your dominant leg and divide your weight over both.'

'Got it.' The blow that glanced his arm soon after felt too sluggish, making Alec shake his head.

'Put your weight into it, Izzy. Don't be afraid to hurt me.'

'Attempting to beat up my brother isn't exactly my favourite activity, I gotta say,' Izzy sighed, making a bothered face.

'First off, we're just practicing. There's no on beating up anyone, plus you have to learn somewhere! I can't help the fact that they put more effort into teaching the boys, but what I can do is teach you exactly what they teach me.'

Izzy looked unsure, eyebrows going up in a frown, 'Are you sure?'

'You know I can take it. It's okay,' Alec responded, shooting his sister a reassuring smile and getting back in his defensive stance. Cocking an eyebrow and shrugging her shoulders, Izzy got ready to throw another punch: one that landed on Alec's stomach and immediately made him double over in pain.

The gasp that fell from his sisters' lips made him chuckle and he quickly raised his hand to let her know that he was alright. Apart from properly having the wind knocked out of him, which Alec had to admit wasn't something that he enjoyed too much, he cheered for her, patting her on the shoulder proudly.

'Like that exactly,' he managed to get out, still hunched over in pain. 

'Are you sure you're okay?' Izzy spoke up on her turn, resting her hands on Alec's arms and helping him straighten up.

'I'll be fine,' he chuckled, smiling at her once more, 'Although I do think we're good for today, don't you?' Izzy let out a laugh and nodded her head briefly. Picking up their bags from the grass and making their way back to the city, Alec slung his arm around his sisters' shoulders.

'I think mom wanted us home early today anyways. Something to do with father actually being there for family dinner.' Alec raised an eyebrow, surprised at the fact that his father was going to make it home this evening. He knew that generally his family was quite early with any evening activities, but really all Spartans were. A good night's sleep was important, essential to be rested and ready for the laborious training that they endured every single day. 

'Did she mention why?'

'Why he'll be home?' Izzy questioned, letting out a confused laugh, 'It's not so strange, considering the councilmembers have the power over nearly anything anyways. The only decisions father gets to make are military based ones and at the moment there's no battles being fought anywhere.'

'What do they teach you in that school of yours, honestly? Tensions with Athens and other polis' have been rising rapidly, Izzy. They have been for a while.' Isabelle frowned, mouth opening and closing in surprise. His people apparently not knowing anything about Sparta's current relations with her neighbouring polis' came as a surprise to Alec as well. He wondered whether maybe he wasn't supposed to know at all in the first place.

'How did you find out about that? No one's mentioned anything at all?'

'I overheard father talking about it the other day, but I guess we weren't really supposed to know yet,' Alec responded, now noticing the Spartan city outlines rising up in the distance.

'But why would they hide it? I know that the kings don't generally decide on things like this, but that's not usual for father.' Alec raised his shoulders, pondering on what it could possibly be.

'I guess if there's no reason to worry about it yet, then why bother telling our people?'

'As if they couldn't handle it,' Izzy responded with a shrug, 'I bet your buddies would jump at the first opportunity to spill blood.'

'You're perfectly aware of the fact that I don't associate with any of them if I can help it. And I know you don't agree with.. with what we do, but-' 

'You don't agree with it either! Killing isn't in our nature, Alec, it isn't in  ** _your_** nature. No matter how we were raised.'

'I know,' Alec sighed, feeling a certain sadness gnawing at his stomach, 'But as soon as we get out there for real, I have to put that aside.

' ** _Alec.._** '

'I'm still a Spartan, Isabelle,' Alec spat out, regretting the way he'd said it immediately, before lowering his voice, 'I'm a Spartan, first and foremost. It's my duty, no matter whether it's in my nature or not.

 

* * *

 

 

Alec pushed the door to his home open, Izzy following close behind him. At the dinner table was not only his dad, but a man that Alec thought to recognise as one of the current Athenian messengers. Before either Alec or his sister could really get a good clue of what was going on, their mother appeared from behind them and quickly pushed them into another room, where Max was already seated on the bed. 

Dropping his bag on the floor, Alec turned to his mother with a whisper, 'What's going on?'

'Alec, we can talk about this with your father..-' 

'Why is there an Athenian messenger in our home?' Alec interrupted her, trying to keep his voice as quiet as possible, 'What are they talking about? Why  _ **here?**_ ' It wasn't usual for messengers to make house calls and the only reason Alec had recognised the man in the first place was because he happened to have seen him at one of the gerousia meetings once before. 

'Is it bad?' Max had spoken up for the first time since they'd entered the room and hearing the tremble in his voice, Alec immediately regretted bringing any of it up with him so nearby.

'There's nothing to worry about, buddy,' he tried, sitting down next to his little brother and wrapping a protective arm around him, 'It's okay.'

'If everything's okay, then why did an Athenian come to visit us?' 

'Max, you go to your room, okay?' Alec looked up and saw his father standing in the doorway, a frown seeming to be permanently creasing his forehead. Max untangled himself from Alec quickly, gaze stuck to the floor as he ran off to his room like he'd been told.

'We're going to talk about this,' Alec demanded, looking at his father sternly, 'Now.'

Robert sighed, but beckoned his son to him with a nod, 'We can go for a walk, the two of us.'

'What about mom and Izzy?'

'We can talk with the four of us later. Now I just need to talk to my son.' Alec followed his father out of the room, trying to ignore the concerned looks from his mother and sister boring into his back.

Once outside, Alec could feel the tension radiating from his father and there was only one thought racing through his mind, 'When you said you needed to talk to me as your son, you meant you needed to talk to me as a soldier, didn't you? A soldier happening to be your son? '

' ** _Alec.._** ' his father breathed out, voice sounding strained. He looked utterly defeated and although Alec didn't like any of it, he felt strangely prepared for what he knew was to come.

'I've been suspecting it for a while now,' he spoke up, trying to reassure his father who looked up at him in surprise.

'Y-you have? Did you hear me and your mother?' Alec only nodded.

'Listen, Alec, I know our talks don't usually run very deep, but I want you to know that I realise the way you feel about this. I know you're not like the others, not really, but even as the king I can't excuse you from this.'

'I've made my peace with it, father.'

'And I'm incredibly sorry that you've even had to do that. I wouldn't be sending you off into this war if the choice was mine, but it isn't. If it was up to me I wouldn't be fighting any war, but we can't look weak in front of the other polis'.' Alec let out a bitter laugh. Of course they had to fight this war. Alec didn't understand the want for bloodshed, but he did understand that it was an opportunity for Sparta to get the upper hand in Greece.

'So what was that messenger doing in our home?' Alec asked, steering away from the conversation that made his chest feel tight.

'He's become a good friend over the years, first of all,' his father answered, 'You're aware of the fact that the Athenians use multiple messengers to station across Greece so they don't have to run as long of a distance, right?'

'What about it?'

'With this war threatening to break out any moment now, they felt it was too risky to have so many men carrying these important messages. They picked their best man to run the entire way to eliminate the chance of important information possibly falling into the wrong hands.'

'That's... unusual,' Alec replied. 

'Quite. The person they chose is supposed to be nearby now and I'm told that he's hard to miss, so you might run into him in town one of these days.' Alec raised an eyebrow at his father, but decided not to question it any further.

'You should go back,' he decided to say instead, 'They need to know, you have to tell them.'

'And you'll go where?' Alec pointed up at one of the mountains that guarded Sparta.

'I need some time for myself right now.' Alec received an understanding nod, before his father turned around and he was left alone.

 

* * *

 

 

Killing. It was only a matter of time until he had to kill someone,  _ **a person.**_ Alec had gone into a panic the minute his dad had left him and it started dawning on him how close this war was really coming. It was only when he reached the quiet forest and was able to walk around the riverbank that his shallow breathing started evening out again and he stopped feeling like his heart was about to burst out of his chest.

There were plenty of good things to being a Spartiate and especially to being the son of one of the two kings: he was healthy, and so was his family, he received a good education and incredible training. As a soldier he had an immense advantage, but the one thing that Alec had always despised was the killing nature of his fellow Spartiates. 

And it wasn't even just the Spartiates who found normality in killing other people: it was all Spartans, most of the Greeks in general. Alec had learned growing up that when it came down to it, whether it be in a war or not, he was supposed to kill when he found himself in a threatening situation. He'd never come close to it: he'd always been protected, always been safe and he'd never been in a situation where he had to intentionally hurt another human being. He didn't want to. Not now, not ever.

Ducking underneath a low hanging branch from one of the trees, Alec enjoyed the feeling of leaves scrunching up underneath his feet. The smell of nature in it's purest form, the rushing of the river nearby, the sound of the birds chirping up in the trees.. Alec loved it more than anything in the world. This place was his safe spot, where he could get away for a moment and calm down if he needed to. 

He always wondered why he would never see any other Spartans walking around here: the forest was beautiful, it was calming and healing. The only other person to ever walk around here, to Alec's knowledge, was John Underhill.

Alec and John had known each other for as long as either of them could remember: they'd grown up together, gone to school together, trained together.. pretty much everything that Alec had done was with his best friend by his side. They were in the same group of soldiers not to forget, and Alec reminded himself to visit his friend later. John deserved to know what was about to happen, what they would be expected to do soon.

Alec was brought back from his thoughts when he heard a branch crack, and this time not under his own two pair of feet. Quickly hiding behind a broad tree, he peeked out from behind the bark and let his eyes roam around the forest in front of him. Right there, just past the edge of the clearing stood a man.

Alec turned around, placing his hands on the tree and stepping forward to get a closer look at the stranger. His back was facing Alec, yet he still felt mesmerized in an odd sort of way. The first thing Alec noticed was broad shoulders, covered by a beautiful dark red coloured garment. Another something that stood out to him were the shoes that the man was wearing: sandals, of the good kind. Alec wondered whether maybe this could be the new Athenian messenger that his father had been talking about.

Still in what felt like nearly a trance, Alec failed to notice the stranger was turning around. With a gasp leaving his lips and scared that the man had seen him, Alec ducked back behind the tree. However, when he was expecting to hear a voice speak up and ask him who he was, the only thing he heard was a soft thud and a sigh leaving someone's lips. 

When he dared to look again, he was met with what must've been the most beautiful man that he'd ever seen in his entire life: lips parting and eyebrows flying up in surprise, Alec let his eyes wander over the strangers' features. The shape of his face, his skin, his nose, his lips: everything about this man was **_excruciatingly beautiful._**

The only time the stranger managed to take Alec's breath away even more than he already had, was when he opened his eyes. Establishing that the man still hadn't noticed him, Alec let himself look: the insanely gorgeous mix of lighter and darker browns, along with what seemed to be amber captured in his eyes and the warmth they held, made Alec buckle on his knees. He'd never seen such welcoming eyes and he wondered whether he could ever look away.

'Lightwood!' Alec tore his gaze away from his beautiful stranger and whipped around so quickly anyone might've wondered how he hadn't snapped his neck. When his eyes fell on John and the initial scare started ebbing away, he frantically turned around and let out a relieved sigh when he saw the stranger was leaning against the base of a tree, fast asleep. Now he wondered how long he'd actually been staring and couldn't help but feel a little bit weird. 

Taking one last lingering look at the stranger who'd taken his breath away, Alec turned around and followed John back and away from the clearing. 

'What had you in such a trance over there?' John piped up when Alec caught up to him, lips turning up into a smug grin.

'Nothing..,' Alec responded, eyes stubbornly glued to the ground, not knowing that that was exactly what gave his lying away to his friend.

'You're aware of the fact that I know all your tells, right?' John asked him with a knowing look in his eyes, 'But since you've been so fixated on everything literally, **_but me_** , I'll let it go this time.' Alec laughed at him, finally actually looking up.

'Well.. actually,' Alec started, knowing well enough he had to tell John about what was to come for the two of them. When his best friend turned to him again with a happy grin still stuck to his face, Alec didn't have the heart to talk about it now.

'So?'

'It's nothing,' Alec quickly answered him, 'It can wait.' John sent an uncertain look his way, but apparently decided not to comment any further on it. Instead, when they arrived back at Alec's house, he stopped in front of the door and the classic John 'knowing smile' made its way back on his face.

'What?'

'Oh, nothing,' he said innocently, like Alec had said before, 'Just know that I will absolutely get out of you who had you so mesmerized in those woods today.' Alec stood still as John hugged him with a quick laugh and patted him on the back, before turning around and heading to his own home. Not without a wink though, of course.

Recovering from his initial surprise Alec laughed too and waved John goodbye, before walking inside straight to his room and letting himself fall down on his bed. Since John had brought it up again, Alec thought back to earlier events in the forest today and couldn't help but smile as he thought back to his beautiful stranger.

He didn't recall ever reacting like this to anyone, let alone a stranger that he hadn't said a word to, but Alec knew that he was royally screwed. 

 


	2. two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off an apology for waiting so long to update this, but with the cancellation all my motivation for writing just flew out the window. Because of that, I don't know how enjoyable this is, but I hope you guys like this second chapter :) I promise the next chapter will have an actual first talk between Magnus and Alec!! And as always, if you have any questions about any terms or whatever else in this chapter that isn't quite clear, don't hesitate to leave a comment and I'll be sure to answer it :)
> 
> Enjoy! 
> 
> P.S. has anyone actually figured out Underhill's first name yet, because I'm still confused and still calling him John,,,

Weeks had passed since Alec had first been told that he could be fighting a war sometime soon: in those weeks he'd also finally built up the courage to tell John what was in store for them. 

Like Alec, John wasn't exactly too keen on the idea either: they'd grown up together, they were best friends and they rubbed off on each other a little bit too much at times. John wasn't capable of actually hurting people and the look of complete and utter terror that Alec had to witness well up in his best friend's eyes broke his heart in two. It wasn't something that either of them expected to have to do and they'd definitely never expected something like this to ever happen during their lifetime. 

The tension and rivalry between Athens and Sparta arose without anyone noticing. Sparta's residents, Spartiates, helots, perioikoi and all, none of them had known before a couple of weeks ago and it seemed that even Alec was one of the first to know. He'd been racking his brain, trying to figure out how he hadn't noticed it before.

Another something that Alec hadn't been able to get off his mind was the Athenian messenger that he'd seen in the woods: the beautiful stranger had been the main subject of his thoughts and Alec was too scared to wonder why. Sure, Alec had felt something like this sometime before, but he'd been able to repress and accept it well enough. This time, however... 

'You've got to stop moping, big brother.' Alec looked up to see his sister walking into his room, plopping down on his bed next to him. 

'Stop moping about the fact that I have to go out and fight a war? People get killed in wars, people kill other people in wars. I think my moping is justified enough,' he responded, shifting on his bed so Isabelle could lay her head down on his lap.

'I'm aware of that and I really feel for you, you know that I do, but not going outside for days on end isn't going to help anything.'

'I want to spend time with all of you before I leave,' Alec mumbled sadly, gazing out of his window.

'Alec, you've barely left your room..'

'I'll be outside enough when I leave,' Alec reminded Izzy, who raised her hand to rest on the side of his face comfortingly.

'You can't know for sure whether there will even be a war to fight, big brother.'

'That's optimistic,' Alec huffed, earning an eye roll from his sister. 

'You could use some of that,' Izzy shot back at him, 'You look miserable.'

'Are you surprised?' Alec asked her, eyebrows shooting up in a questioning look. 

'Obviously not, but you've just... is there- is there anything else?' 

'Anything else what?'

'Father came back alone when he told you that day. Did anything happen while you were gone?' Isabelle sat up straight and looked her brother right in the eyes.

To say that Alec was panicking inside, was an understatement. Why he didn't even exactly know. It wasn't like Alec had talked to the man he'd seen in the woods and it absolutely wasn't like they would ever cross paths again, but the way he'd been feeling these past few weeks.. it scared him. 

'Alec, you know you can tell me anything,' Izzy spoke again, pulling Alec back from his thoughts. 

'I- uh, I don't-,' Alec stuttered out, trying to push the thought of his beautiful stranger out of his mind, 'No. Nothing happened.'

Izzy looked up at him suspiciously, 'You do realise I can read you like a book, right?' 

'Cons of having such a wonderful sister,' he responded, laughing when Izzy nuzzled herself into his side and mumbled out an I love you.

'What I mean to say with that,' she continued, 'Is that I'm here for you if you need someone to talk to. I know you well enough to know that something else is going on and I won't try to pull it out of you, but you do know that I love you and you know that I'm here if you need me. Always.' 

'I know,' Alec answered, pulling his sister closer into a hug, 'I love you too.' 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Alec packed up the last of his belongings, he stood back from his bed for a few seconds and looked at everything that he'd bring with him. It wasn't much at all. The weaponry that they were to use was to be provided for them when they arrived at the camp and apart from a few sets of clothing, not much else was needed, or allowed for that matter. 

Walking over to his nightstand and opening the bottom drawer, he pulled out a golden necklace that he hadn't touched in a while. Holding it up by the chain, he inspected the pendant that hung from it: the golden birdcage with the little heart in it that had become so familiar to him so many years ago. 

Alec had always been a bit of an adventurer, sneaking out of the house to go on long walks, swim in one of the rivers or climb the trees in the forest. One of his biggest adventures had to have been a night that he still remembered oh so well: nearly five years ago Alec had snuck out in the early hours of the morning, despite the rain pouring down and thunder crackling in the valley.

He'd set out for his usual spot, the clearing near the river. Thinking back to it now, it was probably the dumbest thing he could have ever done in the middle of a thunderstorm, but without that dumb decision, he wouldn't have ever found the necklace. He could remember how it had caught his eye for the first time, the gold flickering in the silver light from the thunder. From the moment he'd picked it up, it gave him a sense of comfort and from that day on, it had always given him exactly that. He had no idea where it had come from or whom it had belonged to, but Alec had sworn to keep and to cherish it for whoever it was.

Alec knew that he probably wasn't allowed to bring the necklace with him, but despite that, he tucked it away safely in the inner lining of his heavy jacket where it would be secure and safe. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he took one last glance at the room that he wouldn't be seeing for a while, if ever. 

'Alec?' Alec turned around to see John standing in his doorway, looking even more concerned than Izzy had this morning. 

'Hey,' Alec answered softly before walking towards his best friend and patting him on the arm. John's terrified expression was an exact representation of how Alec was feeling right now. They were both scared out of their minds, even if neither of them wanted to admit it.

'Are you ready?' 

'No,' Alec laughed out shakily, trying to blink away the tears that were starting to rim his eyes. John looked at him empathetically and pulled him into a hug, where both of them could let their tears flow freely. 

'I'm so scared, Alec. I don't- I just..'

'I know,' Alec responded quickly. 'I know.' Pulling back, he gave his best friend the most comforting smile that he could give and put a hand on his arm, guiding them both out of his bedroom and out of the house. Outside his worried family stood waiting.

Before any words could even begin to leave Alec's mouth, Isabelle had thrown her arms around him and held on for what felt like dear life. He could feel her shaking in his embrace and it broke him more than anything ever had before. He tried comforting her by wrapping his arms around her even tighter, but holding back the tears threatening to fall proved a little more difficult.

'I'll be okay,' he spoke up, pulling back and looking down at her assuringly.

'You better come back to me, big brother.' Her voice was shaking, barely above a whisper. 

'I will. Pinky promise.' Izzy smiled back up at him, raised both her hands to hold his face one last time and finally stepped back to stand with the rest of their family. Both Maryse and Robert had already come into his room earlier to talk to him, to say goodbye, and now they stood in front of him with their faces closed off. At that moment Alec recognised his Spartan parents, even though he wished he didn't. 

'Listen,' he started speaking up, voice still shaking, 'If I don't- if I don't make it back-'

'Stop it right there buddy,' John piped up quickly. 'We're going to make it back. You know we will.' Alec offered him a smile and nodded at him briefly, realising that what he'd said was right, even if he hadn't meant it: his family knew that he loved them and Alec didn't have to repeat it for them, especially if it was only going to upset them more than they already were. 

'I guess we'll be leaving then,' he sighed, smiling at his family once more before finally picking up his back again and slinging it over his shoulder. With one last wave, he quickly walked away: the sight of Izzy's tears streaming down her face and Max standing frozen on the ground was too painful for him to bear.

Alec didn't turn around again.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alec had hated every second that he'd had to spend here, feeling so out of place and far from home that he felt like any other place would be better than this one. The light from the moon was shining through the thin fabric of their tents and the faint glow of the lanterns was starting to cast shadows all around them. Sitting down in the far right corner of their tent, Alec prodded at his food and quietly observed everyone around him.

All the Spartiates that were old enough to fight had been gathered for this war. They'd left Sparta now and had already covered a long distance this past week to get closer to Athens each and every other day. Alec was lucky: with his father being one of the two Spartan kings he had a certain advantage, an advantage that had placed him in a tent with the general, some of the higher ranking officers and a couple of Sparta's best soldiers. It felt weird, to say the least.

He'd been in this situation before, other Spartiate soldiers surrounding him, but it was always with the promise of returning home. Now he couldn't even be sure of whether he'd ever get to go home again. Saying goodbye to his family, especially to Max and Izzy, had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done and the thought of never seeing them again alone was enough to break his heart. 

Picking at his food some more, he tried to block the thought of his siblings from his mind. Instead, he jumped up when he felt a hand touching his soldier. His general stood looming over him, eyebrows stuck in a cemented frown. He only now realised that everyone in the tent was staring at him, some even with a worried expression in their eyes. 

‘I-I’m sorry, did I- did I miss anything?’ Alec asked apologetically, before being shushed by everyone in the tent. 

‘There’s someone outside,’ someone whispered, a boy that Alec believed to be called Kynortas, ‘it’s no man of our own.’ 

‘And you know that how?’ Alec asked him, keeping his voice low this time. 

‘We’re in war territory, Lightwood. No man of our own would be stupid enough to linger around one of the tents longer than a couple of minutes at this hour.’ His general nodded briefly, before shoving a blade into Alec’s hands. 

‘If it’s one of our own, bring them in so I can have a hefty word with them. If it’s not, a stake through the heart it is,’ he ordered, letting go of the sword and patting Alec on the arm. Alec stood frozen for a couple of seconds, before his general hit him on the arm once more.

‘Go, Lightwood.’ Alec nodded at him briefly and slowly made his way outside. 

Once the cool summer air hit him, Alec got sucked out his trance and realised the weapon he was holding in his hands was a xiphos: a short blade that the Spartans used in battle and was considered to be capable of causing serious and sometimes lethal damage. Now that Alec had stepped further outside of the tent, he cursed himself for not going back in and getting his spear. If this midnight wanderer ended up being anything other than a Spartiate, Alec would not only have to kill him, but he’d also have to come up close to strike a lethal blow. 

With his breath hitching in his throat making it feel like it was closing up, Alec walked around the tent quietly until he noticed someone standing a couple feet away from him. As his heart pace picked up more by the second, Alec secured his hold on the xiphos and with his heart threatening to jump out his chest, Alec approached the wanderer and raised his arm slowly. Then the realization of what he was about to do hit him.

He couldn’t breathe.

As the wanderer turned around, warned by approaching footsteps, Alec felt his last breath hitching in his throat before entirely freezing in place. He dropped the blade and as it clattered to the ground, the two men stared at each other in complete shock, Alec maybe more so than the man standing in front of him and having been in danger of being killed just moments before. 

But Alec could never forget those eyes.

And as the realization dawned on him that the beautiful stranger from the woods was standing right in front of him after having consumed nearly every one of his thoughts for the last couple of weeks, Alec didn’t know what to do besides stand still in shock. The blade lay still on the ground between them and as the man looked at it with something that wasn’t anything short of terror, Alec felt like he was finally able to move. 

‘Go,’ Alec spoke up sternly, but his voice wavering, ‘Now.’ As the stranger looked at him, shock still written all over his face, he finally nodded at Alec and started taking a few steps backward.

‘Don’t make the same mistake twice. If you come back here again, you will be killed.’

‘Thank you.’ With those few words and a last look shared, the man disappeared into the night and left Alec standing alone, wondering what in the hell had just happened. 

He still couldn’t breathe.


End file.
